Letter 807: That famous and great city, where you both distinguished yourself and were honored, has been shaken by many evils —...

To Acacius. (363) That splendid and great city, in which you displayed yourself and by which you were honored, has been shaken by many evils, having struggled against famine and having seemed to the emperor to be a wrongdoer, and we continued making supplication, yet were not able to escape the reputation. You, however, were fortunate in that you enjoyed her while she fared well, but did not share in the other things—unless someone should say that you shared in this respect, that whatever would have been accomplished by you while she was prospering, these things were hindered by the harshness of the present circumstance. For wherever we went, there was despondency everywhere, and our words were spent in vain; and when we approached, those who had the power to give shut their doors, so that they might not hear our voice; to such a degree of [in]capacity have we come. But if some one of the gods should dissolve the gloom, we shall once again take hold of our work, and perhaps we shall not be unsuccessful.

Ἀκακίῳ. (363) Ἡ πόλις ἐκείνη ἡ λαμπρὰ καὶ μεγάλη, ᾗ καὶ σαυτὸν ἔδει- ξας καὶ παρ’ ᾗ τετίμησαι, πολλοῖς κακοῖς διασέσεισται λιμῷ τε μεμαχημένη καὶ βασιλεῖ δόξασα εἶναι κακοῦργος, καὶ διε- τελέσαμεν ἱκετεύοντες μέν, ἐκφυγεῖν δὲ τὴν δόξαν οὐ δυνη- θέντες. σὺ δὲ ἄρα εὐδαίμων εὖ πραττούσης μὲν ἀπολαύ- σὰς, τῶν ἑτέρων δὲ οὐ κοινωνήσας πλὴν εἰ ταύτῃ σέ τις κεκοινωνηκέναι φαίη, ὅτι ἃ φερομένης καλῶς ἐπέπρακτο ἄν σοι, ταῦτα τῇ τοῦ καιροῦ χαλεπότητι διεκω/ύθη. ὅπῃ γὰρ ἔλθοιμεν, ἀθυμία πανταχοῦ, καὶ οἱ λόγοι μάτην ἀναλοῦντο· προσιόντων δὲ οἱ δοῦναι κύριοι τὰς θύρας ἀπέκλειον, ὅπως ἡμῶν μὴ ἀκούοιεν τῆς φωνῆς· εἰς τοσοῦτον δυνάμεως ἥκο- με ἀλλ’ ἢν θεῶν τις λύση τὸν ζόφον, ἔργου τε αὖθις ἑξό- μέθᾳ καὶ ἴσως οὐκ ἀτυχήσομεν.